Ct system and method for determining the position and range of a mobile control element for control of the ct system

ABSTRACT

A CT system for a computed tomography examination is disclosed. In an embodiment, the CT system includes at least one mobile control element for control of the CT system, wirelessly connected to the CT system. At least one position and range determination facility is provided to determine the current position of the at least one control element in a range around the CT system. Furthermore, a method is disclosed for the position and range determination of a mobile control element for control of a CT system. A control and computing unit of a CT system are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/078,339, filed on Mar. 23, 2016, which claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119 to German patent application number DE 102015206230.9 filedApr. 8, 2015, the entire contents of each of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

At least one embodiment of the invention generally relates to a CTsystem for a computed tomography examination, at least having at leastone mobile control element for control of the CT system, which iswirelessly connected to the CT system.

At least one embodiment of the invention further generally relates to amethod for determining the position and range of a mobile controlelement for control of the CT system, wherein the control element iswirelessly connected to the CT system, and to a control and computingunit of the CT system.

BACKGROUND

Control of CT systems using mobile control elements is basically alreadyknown. There are a few safety regulations here, such as for instance therapid accessibility to an emergency shutdown switch of the CT system.This requires a location monitoring of the control element or thespecification of a fixed position, from which the CT system can beoperated via the control element.

Simple mechanical encodings were hitherto used on the control elementfor this purpose. In other words, for instance, as soon as the controlelement is positioned in a fixed-location support, certain operating andcontrol functions are activated. A location-independent and flexiblecontrol of the CT system is however not possible here.

SUMMARY

At least one embodiment of the invention provides a CT system with aflexible and location-independent control by adhering to the safetyregulations.

Advantageous developments of the invention form the subject matter ofthe claims.

The inventor has recognized that a contactless determination of theposition and range, in other words in general a location monitoring of amobile control element, which is wirelessly connected to the CT system,allows for control of the CT system to be restricted to a certainpredefined range around the CT system, so that the safety regulations,such as for instance the accessibility of the emergency shutdown switchor, that a positioning of the patient on a couch is only possible undervisual control of the user, are adhered to.

For the sake of simplicity, conventional methods can be used forlocation monitoring of the control element. Here a two orthree-dimensional range around the CT system can be predetermined andmonitored to determine whether the control element is located inside oroutside of the range. It is also possible to monitor a precise positionof the control element and thus the distance from the CT system, whereinthe predetermined distance in turn predefines the radius of athree-dimensional range. To ensure a redundant location monitoring, boththe precise position of the control element and also a predeterminedrange can be determined and monitored. A range around the CT system cangenerally be defined for instance as a range, or in particular a rangearound the emergency shutdown switch or around the couch, in particulararound the patient positioned on the couch.

If the control element is located outside of the range or it exceeds apredetermined distance, control of the CT system can be blocked, inparticular certain safety-relevant components of the CT system, forinstance a movement of the patient couch or the emission of x-rayradiation, can be shut down. Control of the CT system, in particularsafety-relevant components, is then consequently only possible withinthe range or up to a certain distance.

Accordingly, in at least one embodiment the inventor proposes to improvea CT system for a computed tomography examination, in particular of apatient, at least having at least one mobile control element for controlof the CT system, which is wirelessly connected to the CT system,accordingly such that at least one position and range determinationfacility is provided to determine the current position of the at leastone control element in a predetermined range around the CT system. TheCT system can, in accordance with at least one embodiment of theinvention, only be controlled with the wireless control element in apredetermined range or up to a predetermined maximum distance, which inturn defines a circle radius and thus a range around the CT system. Thisallows for a significantly more flexible and location-independentoperation than with known systems. The safety regulations for operationof the CT system are adhered to here. Moreover, the range and/or thedistance can be individually predetermined and adjusted to the spatialconditions of the examination room.

Moreover, in an embodiment the inventors propose a method of positionand range determination of a mobile control element for control of anafore-described, inventive CT system, wherein the control element iswirelessly connected to the CT system, at least having the steps:predetermine a range around the CT system, in which control of the CTsystem is enabled, determine a position of the control element andenable the control element provided the control element is in thepredetermined range around the CT system. In return, control of the CTsystem is blocked by the control element in accordance with theinvention if the control element is located outside of the predeterminedrange.

Moreover, at least one embodiment of the invention relates to a controland computing unit of a previously described, inventive CT system, uponwhich a program or program codes is/are stored, which during operationexecutes the afore-described inventive method.

Accordingly, in at least one embodiment the inventor proposes to improvea CT system for a computed tomography examination, in particular of apatient, at least having at least one mobile control element for controlof the CT system, which is wirelessly connected to the CT system,accordingly such that at least one position and range determinationfacility is provided to determine the current position of the at leastone control element in a predetermined range around the CT system. TheCT system can, in accordance with at least one embodiment of theinvention, only be controlled with the wireless control element in apredetermined range or up to a predetermined maximum distance, which inturn defines a circle radius and thus a range around the CT system. Thisallows for a significantly more flexible and location-independentoperation than with known systems. The safety regulations for operationof the CT system are adhered to here. Moreover, the range and/or thedistance can be individually predetermined and adjusted to the spatialconditions of the examination room.

One embodiment provides that the predetermined range is embodied aroundan emergency shutdown switch of the CT system. The safety regulations inrespect of the rapid accessibility of the emergency shutdown switchduring operation of the CT system with the mobile control element areadhered to here. During control of the CT system, the user is alwayslocated inside of the predetermined range, since otherwise mobilecontrol is blocked.

A further embodiment provides that the predetermined range is embodiedaround a couch of the CT system, in particular around a patientpositioned on the couch. This ensures that control of the movement ofthe couch for positioning the patient in the CT system is only possibleif the user is located in the visual range of the couch or of thepatient. It is thus possible to monitor that the control element doesnot fail to meet a predetermined distance from the patient. Therefore aclose range around the patient or the couch, in which control is notpossible, can thus be predetermined. This is advantageous above all inpatients with cardiac pacemakers, since the signals sent by the controlelement can interfere with the performance of the cardiac pacemaker.

Moreover, in general certain ranges in the examination room can bepredetermined, from which control with the control element is to beblocked. An operation can also be blocked for instance in theafore-described embodiment if the user has placed the control element onthe couch in order for instance to align the patient on the couch orotherwise.

There are various embodiments for the at least one position and rangedetermination facility, in brief location monitoring. Two or moreposition and range determination facilities can be used for a redundantmonitoring. On the one hand a facility for determining the currentposition of the control element, in other words a tangible distance andon the other hand a facility for range determination, in other words formonitoring is preferably used to determine whether the control elementis located inside or outside of a range. The predetermined and monitoredrange can be defined either two or three-dimensionally in theexamination room of the CT system.

In one embodiment, the at least one position and range determinationfacility comprises at least one induction loop in order to define thepredetermined range. The induction loop defines a two-dimensional rangearound the CT system, for instance around the emergency shutdown switchor the couch. This allows for monitoring of whether the control elementis disposed inside or outside of the loop or of the range. It is alsopossible to lay a first induction loop around the couch so that controlcannot occur too close to the patient, in order for instance not tointerfere with a cardiac pacemaker and to lay a further induction looparound the CT system in order to predetermine a maximum range, outsideof which operation is blocked.

In another embodiment, the at least one position and range determinationfacility comprises at least one camera, in order to determine theposition of the at least one control element. The control elementadvantageously has at least one optical marker, which can be detected bythe camera for position determination.

Another embodiment provides that the at least one position and rangedetermination facility comprises at least one navigation facility fornavigation in closed rooms, in order to determine the position of the atleast one control element. This is preferably a navigation system suchas iBeacon® by Apple. This navigation system operates with a number oftransmitters, which are arranged distributed across the examination roomof the CT system, and a receiver on the control element. Thetransmitters emit signals at regular time intervals, preferably radiosignals, which are detected by the receiver. Here both the distance ofthe control element from the CT system can be determined and also arange around the CT system. The more transmitters are used, the moreprecise the location determination. With the aid of at least threetransmitters, a two-dimensional location determination canadvantageously take place. A three-dimensional location determinationcan advantageously take place with the aid of at least fourtransmitters.

According to another embodiment, the at least one position and rangedetermination facility comprises at least one transmitter-receivercombination, in order to determine the position of the at least onecontrol element according to the pulse range method. The transmitter isadvantageously embodied as a light source, which emits light signals.The light signal can be reflected onto the control element andadvantageously detected at a receiver. The distance from the controlelement can be determined on the basis of the transmit and receive timeinstant.

In another further embodiment, the at least one position and rangedetermination facility comprises at least one GPS, in order to determinethe position of the at least one control element. Both athree-dimensional range and also a tangible distance thereto can also bemonitored here. The GPS is preferably embodied as a DPGS, in order toachieve greater accuracy in terms of position determination.

The at least one control element can be embodied for instance as part ofa movable trolley or as a tablet PC.

Moreover, in an embodiment the inventors propose a method of positionand range determination of a mobile control element for control of anafore-described, inventive CT system, wherein the control element iswirelessly connected to the CT system, at least having the steps:predetermine a range around the CT system, in which control of the CTsystem is enabled, determine a position of the control element andenable the control element provided the control element is in thepredetermined range around the CT system. In return, control of the CTsystem is blocked by the control element in accordance with theinvention if the control element is located outside of the predeterminedrange.

The safety regulations such as accessibility of the emergency shutdownswitch on the CT system or couch controller can advantageously only beadhered to with the inventive method if the patient is located in thevisual range of the user. This is of particular importance during theoperation of components of the CT system which are relevant to safetyand are a danger to individuals, for instance a movement of the patientcouch or the emission of x-ray radiation.

A movement of a couch of the CT system is preferably stopped if thecontrol element is located outside of the predetermined range, in otherwords the user is no longer in the visual range of the couch forinstance. Emission of x-ray radiation from an emitter-detector system ofthe CT system is further preferably stopped if the control element islocated outside of the predetermined range. The same advantageouslyapplies if a predetermined distance between the CT system, in particularthe couch or the emergency shutdown switch, and control element isexceeded.

Control and operation of the CT system, in particular of thesafety-relevant components, is enabled by way of the method only in apredetermined range or up to a distance. To this end, the position ofthe control element is constantly monitored.

Moreover, at least one embodiment of the invention relates to a controland computing unit of a previously described, inventive CT system, uponwhich a program or program codes is/are stored, which during operationexecutes the afore-described inventive method.

The inventive CT system and the inventive method are furtheradvantageous in that the afore-described position and rangedetermination facilities can be used in an energy-saving manner so thatthese are particularly well suited to mobile, wireless control elements.Furthermore, the known position and range determination facilities arefavorable and simple in terms of acquisition and maintenance. Both anavigation system by way of iBeacon® and also the pulse range method canbe extended for bidirectional communication with the CT system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in more detail on the basis of a preferredexample embodiment with the aid of the figures, wherein only thefeatures required to understand the invention are shown, in which indetail: 1: emergency shutdown switch; 2: mobile control element; 3:induction loop; B, B1, B2: range; C1: CT system; C2: first x-ray tube;C3: first detector; C4: second x-ray tube (optional); C5: seconddetector (optional); C6: gantry housing; C7: patient; C8: patient couch;C9: system axis; C10: control and computing unit; Prg1-Prgn: computerprograms;

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a CT system with a controland computing unit and a predetermined three-dimensional range aroundthe emergency shutdown switch, and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the CT system according toFIG. 1 and a predetermined two-dimensional range around the emergencyshutdown switch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The drawings are to be regarded as being schematic representations andelements illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale.Rather, the various elements are represented such that their functionand general purpose become apparent to a person skilled in the art. Anyconnection or coupling between functional blocks, devices, components,or other physical or functional units shown in the drawings or describedherein may also be implemented by an indirect connection or coupling. Acoupling between components may also be established over a wirelessconnection. Functional blocks may be implemented in hardware, firmware,software, or a combination thereof.

Various example embodiments will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings in which only some exampleembodiments are shown. Specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describingexample embodiments. The present invention, however, may be embodied inmany alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only theexample embodiments set forth herein.

Accordingly, while example embodiments of the invention are capable ofvarious modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described indetail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent tolimit example embodiments of the present invention to the particularforms disclosed. On the contrary, example embodiments are to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope ofthe invention. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout thedescription of the figures.

Before discussing example embodiments in more detail, it is noted thatsome example embodiments are described as processes or methods depictedas flowcharts. Although the flowcharts describe the operations assequential processes, many of the operations may be performed inparallel, concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, the order ofoperations may be re-arranged. The processes may be terminated whentheir operations are completed, but may also have additional steps notincluded in the figure. The processes may correspond to methods,functions, procedures, subroutines, subprograms, etc.

Specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merelyrepresentative for purposes of describing example embodiments of thepresent invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in manyalternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only theembodiments set forth herein.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of example embodiments of thepresent invention. As used herein, the term “and/or,” includes any andall combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Thephrase “at least one of” has the same meaning as “and/or”.

Further, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,it should be understood that these elements, components, regions, layersand/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms areused only to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, orsection from another region, layer, or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed asecond element, component, region, layer, or section without departingfrom the teachings of the present invention.

Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for example,between modules) are described using various terms, including“connected,” “engaged,” “interfaced,” and “coupled.” Unless explicitlydescribed as being “direct,” when a relationship between first andsecond elements is described in the above disclosure, that relationshipencompasses a direct relationship where no other intervening elementsare present between the first and second elements, and also an indirectrelationship where one or more intervening elements are present (eitherspatially or functionally) between the first and second elements. Incontrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly” connected,engaged, interfaced, or coupled to another element, there are nointervening elements present. Other words used to describe therelationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion(e.g., “between,” versus “directly between,” “adjacent,” versus“directly adjacent,” etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exampleembodiments of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms as well,unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, theterms “and/or” and “at least one of” include any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or“including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, thefunctions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures.For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executedsubstantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. Itwill be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”,“upper”, and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, term such as “below” can encompass both anorientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein are interpreted accordingly.

Portions of the example embodiments and corresponding detaileddescription may be presented in terms of software, or algorithms andsymbolic representations of operation on data bits within a computermemory. These descriptions and representations are the ones by whichthose of ordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance oftheir work to others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as theterm is used here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be aself-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The stepsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofoptical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion,terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” of “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computingdevice/hardware, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical, electronic quantities within the computer system's registersand memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or display devices.

FIG. 1 shows an example CT system C1. The CT system C1 comprises agantry housing C6, in which a gantry (not shown in more detail here) isdisposed, to which a first x-ray tube C2 with an opposing first detectorC3 is fastened. A second x-ray tube C4 with a second opposing detectorC5 is optionally provided. A patient C7 is located on a patient couch C8which can be moved in the direction of the system axis C9, with which,during the scanning with the x-ray radiation, he can be movedcontinuously or sequentially along the system axis C9 through ameasurement field between the x-ray tubes C2 and C4 and the associateddetectors C3 and C5 in each case. This process is controlled by acontrol and computing unit C10 with the aid of computer programs Prg1 toPrgn.

An emergency shutdown switch 1 is arranged on the couch C8. Duringoperation and control of the CT system C1, for instance the movement ofthe couch C8, a user or a control element must be located in apredetermined range around the emergency shutdown switch 1 in order toadhere to existing safety regulations. An inventive position and rangedetermination facility is provided here on the CT system C1.

With the position and range determination facility, a three-dimensionalrange around the emergency shutdown switch 1 is defined in theembodiment according to FIG. 1, in which operation of the CT system C1with the mobile control element 2 is enabled. The control element 2 isembodied here as a tablet PC. The three-dimensional range is shown inFIG. 1 as a dashed cuboid. The range essentially extends around thecouch C8. According to the embodiment shown here, the three-dimensionalrange is defined by a number of transmitters of the navigation systemiBeacon®, which are arranged on the walls or the ceiling of theexamination room for instance. A receiver of the iBeacon® navigationsystem is located in the mobile control element 2. As soon as thecontrol element 2 leaves the range B, control of the couch C8 with thecontrol element 2 is no longer possible.

FIG. 2 shows a further schematic representation of the CT system C1according to FIG. 1. In this embodiment, a first two-dimensional rangeB1 around the couch C8 and a second two-dimensional range B2 around theemergency off switch 1 is defined. The ranges B1 and B2 are each definedby way of an induction loop 3, which is embedded in the floor of theexamination room for instance. Control of the CT system C1 with themobile control element 2 is only possible if the control element 2 islocated between the two induction loops 3, in other words outside of thefirst range B1 or inside of the second range B2.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greaterdetail by the preferred example embodiment, the invention is not limitedby the examples disclosed and the person skilled in the art will be ableto derive other variations on this basis without departing from thescope of protection of the invention.

The aforementioned description is merely illustrative in nature and isin no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses.The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety offorms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples,the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since othermodifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, thespecification, and the following claims. It should be understood thatone or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (orconcurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure.Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as havingcertain features, any one or more of those features described withrespect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and/orcombined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if thatcombination is not explicitly described. In other words, the describedembodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or moreembodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.

The patent claims filed with the application are formulation proposalswithout prejudice for obtaining more extensive patent protection. Theapplicant reserves the right to claim even further combinations offeatures previously disclosed only in the description and/or drawings.

The example embodiment or each example embodiment should not beunderstood as a restriction of the invention. Rather, numerousvariations and modifications are possible in the context of the presentdisclosure, in particular those variants and combinations which can beinferred by the person skilled in the art with regard to achieving theobject for example by combination or modification of individual featuresor elements or method steps that are described in connection with thegeneral or specific part of the description and are contained in theclaims and/or the drawings, and, by way of combinable features, lead toa new subject matter or to new method steps or sequences of methodsteps, including insofar as they concern production, testing andoperating methods. Further, elements and/or features of differentexample embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substitutedfor each other within the scope of this disclosure and appended claims.

References back that are used in dependent claims indicate the furtherembodiment of the subject matter of the main claim by way of thefeatures of the respective dependent claim; they should not beunderstood as dispensing with obtaining independent protection of thesubject matter for the combinations of features in the referred-backdependent claims. Furthermore, with regard to interpreting the claims,where a feature is concretized in more specific detail in a subordinateclaim, it should be assumed that such a restriction is not present inthe respective preceding claims.

Since the subject matter of the dependent claims in relation to theprior art on the priority date may form separate and independentinventions, the applicant reserves the right to make them the subjectmatter of independent claims or divisional declarations. They mayfurthermore also contain independent inventions which have aconfiguration that is independent of the subject matters of thepreceding dependent claims.

Still further, any one of the above-described and other example featuresof the present invention may be embodied in the form of an apparatus,method, system, computer program, tangible computer readable medium andtangible computer program product. For example, of the aforementionedmethods may be embodied in the form of a system or device, including,but not limited to, any of the structure for performing the methodologyillustrated in the drawings.

In this application, including the definitions below, the term ‘module’or the term ‘controller’ may be replaced with the term ‘circuit.’ Theterm ‘module’ may refer to, be part of, or include processor hardware(shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code and memory hardware(shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processorhardware.

The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples,the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces that areconnected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide areanetwork (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any givenmodule of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiplemodules that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiplemodules may allow load balancing. In a further example, a server (alsoknown as remote, or cloud) module may accomplish some functionality onbehalf of a client module.

Further, at least one embodiment of the invention relates to anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisingelectronically readable control information stored thereon, configuredin such that when the storage medium is used in a controller of amagnetic resonance device, at least one embodiment of the method iscarried out.

Even further, any of the aforementioned methods may be embodied in theform of a program. The program may be stored on a non-transitorycomputer readable medium and is adapted to perform any one of theaforementioned methods when run on a computer device (a device includinga processor). Thus, the non-transitory, tangible computer readablemedium, is adapted to store information and is adapted to interact witha data processing facility or computer device to execute the program ofany of the above mentioned embodiments and/or to perform the method ofany of the above mentioned embodiments.

The computer readable medium or storage medium may be a built-in mediuminstalled inside a computer device main body or a removable mediumarranged so that it can be separated from the computer device main body.The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not encompasstransitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through amedium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium istherefore considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examplesof the non-transitory computer-readable medium include, but are notlimited to, rewriteable non-volatile memory devices (including, forexample flash memory devices, erasable programmable read-only memorydevices, or a mask read-only memory devices); volatile memory devices(including, for example static random access memory devices or a dynamicrandom access memory devices); magnetic storage media (including, forexample an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive); andoptical storage media (including, for example a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-rayDisc). Examples of the media with a built-in rewriteable non-volatilememory, include but are not limited to memory cards; and media with abuilt-in ROM, including but not limited to ROM cassettes; etc.Furthermore, various information regarding stored images, for example,property information, may be stored in any other form, or it may beprovided in other ways.

The term code, as used above, may include software, firmware, and/ormicrocode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, datastructures, and/or objects. Shared processor hardware encompasses asingle microprocessor that executes some or all code from multiplemodules. Group processor hardware encompasses a microprocessor that, incombination with additional microprocessors, executes some or all codefrom one or more modules. References to multiple microprocessorsencompass multiple microprocessors on discrete dies, multiplemicroprocessors on a single die, multiple cores of a singlemicroprocessor, multiple threads of a single microprocessor, or acombination of the above.

Shared memory hardware encompasses a single memory device that storessome or all code from multiple modules. Group memory hardwareencompasses a memory device that, in combination with other memorydevices, stores some or all code from one or more modules.

The term memory hardware is a subset of the term computer-readablemedium. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does notencompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagatingthrough a medium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readablemedium is therefore considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limitingexamples of the non-transitory computer-readable medium include, but arenot limited to, rewriteable non-volatile memory devices (including, forexample flash memory devices, erasable programmable read-only memorydevices, or a mask read-only memory devices); volatile memory devices(including, for example static random access memory devices or a dynamicrandom access memory devices); magnetic storage media (including, forexample an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive); andoptical storage media (including, for example a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-rayDisc). Examples of the media with a built-in rewriteable non-volatilememory, include but are not limited to memory cards; and media with abuilt-in ROM, including but not limited to ROM cassettes; etc.Furthermore, various information regarding stored images, for example,property information, may be stored in any other form, or it may beprovided in other ways.

The apparatuses and methods described in this application may bepartially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created byconfiguring a general purpose computer to execute one or more particularfunctions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks andflowchart elements described above serve as software specifications,which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine workof a skilled technician or programmer.

The computer programs include processor-executable instructions that arestored on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium. Thecomputer programs may also include or rely on stored data. The computerprograms may encompass a basic input/output system (BIOS) that interactswith hardware of the special purpose computer, device drivers thatinteract with particular devices of the special purpose computer, one ormore operating systems, user applications, background services,background applications, etc.

The computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed,such as HTML (hypertext markup language) or XML (extensible markuplanguage), (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated from sourcecode by a compiler, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter,(v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-timecompiler, etc. As examples only, source code may be written using syntaxfrom languages including C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Haskell, Go, SQL, R,Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5,Ada, ASP (active server pages), PHP, Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang,Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, and Python®.

None of the elements recited in the claims are intended to be ameans-plus-function element within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f)unless an element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or,in the case of a method claim, using the phrases “operation for” or“step for.”

Example embodiments being thus described, it will be obvious that thesame may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regardedas a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, andall such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. An imaging modality comprising: a memory storingcomputer-readable instructions; and at least one processor coupled tothe memory and configured to execute the computer-readable instructionsto determine whether a mobile control element configured to control theimaging modality is located greater than a first threshold distance awayfrom the imaging modality, the imaging modality configured tocommunicate with the mobile control element via a wireless communicationlink, and the first threshold distance being shorter than acommunication range of the wireless communication link, and disable oneor more functions of the imaging modality in response to determiningthat the mobile control element is located greater than the firstthreshold distance away from the imaging modality.
 3. The imagingmodality of claim 2, further comprising: an emergency shutdown switch,wherein the first threshold distance is measured from the emergencyshutdown switch.
 4. The imaging modality of claim 2, further comprising:a couch, wherein the first threshold distance is measured from thecouch.
 5. The imaging modality of claim 2, further comprising: at leastone induction loop defining the first threshold distance.
 6. The imagingmodality of claim 2, wherein the imaging modality is a computedtomography system or magnetic resonance scanner.
 7. The imaging modalityof claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is configured to executethe computer-readable instructions to determine a position of the mobilecontrol element; and determine whether the mobile control element islocated greater than the first threshold distance away from the imagingmodality based on the position of the mobile control element.
 8. Theimaging modality of claim 7, further comprising: at least one camera,wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute thecomputer-readable instructions to determine the position of the mobilecontrol element based on information from the at least one camera. 9.The imaging modality of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to execute the computer-readable instructions to determinethe position of the mobile control element based on information from atleast one navigation facility.
 10. The imaging modality of claim 7,wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute thecomputer-readable instructions to determine the position of the mobilecontrol element according to a pulse range method based on informationfrom at least one transmitter-receiver combination.
 11. The imagingmodality of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured toexecute the computer-readable instructions to determine the position ofthe mobile control element based on information from at least one GPSreceiver.
 12. The imaging modality of claim 2, wherein the mobilecontrol element includes a movable trolley or a tablet PC.
 13. Theimaging modality of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to execute the computer-readable instructions to determinewhether the mobile control element is located less than a secondthreshold distance away from the imaging modality, the second thresholddistance being less than the first threshold distance, and disable theone or more functions of the imaging modality in response to determiningthat the mobile control element is located less than the secondthreshold distance away from the imaging modality.
 14. An imagingmodality comprising: a memory storing computer-readable instructions;and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured toexecute the computer-readable instructions to determine whether a mobilecontrol element configured to control the imaging modality is locatedless than a first threshold distance away from the imaging modality andgreater than a second threshold distance away from the imaging modality,the second threshold distance being less than the first thresholddistance, and enable one or more functions of the imaging modality inresponse to determining that the mobile control element is located lessthan the first threshold distance away from the imaging modality andgreater than the second threshold distance away from the imagingmodality, wherein the imaging modality is configured to communicate withthe mobile control element via a wireless communication link, and thefirst threshold distance is less than a communication range of thewireless communication link.
 15. The imaging modality of claim 14,further comprising: an emergency shutdown switch, wherein the firstthreshold distance and the second threshold distance are measured fromthe emergency shutdown switch.
 16. The imaging modality of claim 14,further comprising: a couch, wherein the first threshold distance andthe second threshold distance are measured from the couch.
 17. Theimaging modality of claim 14, further comprising: at least one inductionloop defining the first threshold distance and the second thresholddistance.
 18. The imaging modality of claim 14, wherein the imagingmodality is a computed tomography system or magnetic resonance scanner.19. The imaging modality of claim 14, wherein the at least one processoris configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to determinea position of the mobile control element; and determine whether themobile control element is located less than the first threshold distanceaway from the imaging modality and greater than the second thresholddistance away from the imaging modality based on the position of themobile control element.
 20. The imaging modality of claim 19, furthercomprising: at least one camera, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to execute the computer-readable instructions to determinethe position of the mobile control element based on information from theat least one camera.
 21. The imaging modality of claim 19, wherein theat least one processor is configured to execute the computer-readableinstructions to determine the position of the mobile control elementbased on information from at least one navigation facility.
 22. Theimaging modality of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to execute the computer-readable instructions to determinethe position of the mobile control element according to a pulse rangemethod based on information from at least one transmitter-receivercombination.
 23. The imaging modality of claim 19, wherein the at leastone processor is configured to execute the computer-readableinstructions to determine the position of the mobile control elementbased on information from at least one GPS receiver.
 24. The imagingmodality of claim 14, wherein the mobile control element includes amovable trolley or a tablet PC.
 25. The imaging modality of claim 14,wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute thecomputer-readable instructions to enable the one or more functions ofthe imaging modality only in response to determining that the mobilecontrol element is located less than the first threshold distance awayfrom the imaging modality and greater than the second threshold distanceaway from the imaging modality.